Mateo gets even hotter at plate for Tampa

Jorge Mateo is known for top-end speed, but Class A Advanced Tampa hitting coach Eric Duncan has seen first-hand he can also belt the ball gap-to-gap with a high exit velocity.
During Thursday's doubleheader, the No. 4 Yankees prospect put both of those abilities together.
Mateo delivered two triples, a double and scored the lone run to lead the Baby Bombers to a 1-0 win over the Jupiter Hammerheads in the nightcap. He also doubled in Tampa's 3-2 victory in the first contest.

Game 2 box score
"It was just barrels, he has a lot of bat speed," Duncan said. "He squares the ball up. He was doing that consistently today, especially in the night game. The ball just jumped off his bat in a big-time way. He was staying balanced and attacking balls and just hitting really well."
MLB.com's No. 40 overall prospect has hit safely in 12 of the last 14 games and raised his average 50 points to .270. Six of those efforts have been multi-hit performances.
"He obviously has unbelievable speed, he's got tremendous bat speed," the third-year hitting coach said. "When he attacks pitches he can handle -- not necessarily strikes -- but pitches he can handle, he has a very good chance to do damage. Even though he's extremely fast, he has the ability to drive the ball -- and drive the ball with authority. When he attacks pitches in his zone like he did tonight and like he's been doing more consistently, he puts himself in a position to have nights like he had tonight."
Mateo led off the second game with a four-pitch walk against lefty Ben Holmes. In the third, the shortstop ripped a 3-1 pitch into center field for a triple. He scored two batters later on Tito Polo's sacrifice fly.
Matched up with right-hander Eric Alonzo in the fifth, the 21-year-old smashed the second offering to center and legged out another triple. His sixth of the season tied him for the Florida State League lead with Darren Seferina of Palm Beach.
Mateo also tripled twice nearly two years ago to the day with Class A Charleston against Rome on May 27, 2015.
"He's a guy with extreme speed. So getting to watch him play every day, you see him more and more. Not that you get used to it, but all of a sudden, when he busts out a triple, you really see how special it is," Duncan said. "It's fun to watch."
The Dominican Republic native capped his night with a double to left off southpaw José Quijada.
According to Duncan, Mateo has amassed a slash line of .303/.308/.607 over 22 games in May because of the approach he takes every day.
"The one thing that has not changed has been his work ethic," Duncan said. "It's always been very good and it's always been tremendous. He always works his tail off. About two months now that I've had him, and it's been the exact same. We obviously have a plan that he needs to work on and things he needs to improve on. It's a pleasure to see how hard he gets after it on a daily basis."
Between 2016 and 2017, Mateo has compiled a .262 average with 15 triples and 11 home runs in 158 FSL games. Duncan thinks the 21-year-old still has more room to improve.

"Jorge, is obviously a special player. The words I use are extreme ability," Duncan said. "He can do it all in a big-time way. Getting to see him this year, and he is still so young, but he's been around the full season for a while now. He's still growing and he's still learning himself. He's still learning his strike zone, his zone and what pitches he can do damage with in what count.
"All that stuff comes with maturity, comes with reps. Seeing him mature, grow and get better on a daily basis, with all of our guys, is a lot fun to watch as hitting coach."
No. 23 Yankees prospect Kyle Holder collected two hits for Tampa in the nightcap. In the opener, Sharif Othman went deep and Jhalan Jackson added two hits and two RBIs.